At least one person dead after strong quake rattles Greek island of Crete

A strong earthquake measuring 5.8 shook Greece’s largest island Crete on Monday and one person was killed when a church dome collapsed, authorities said.

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The quake, which sent people out of their homes and public buildings and caused considerable damage, was described by a Greek seismologist, Efthymios Lekkas, as a “thunderbolt” with strong aftershocks.

A man died when the dome of a church in the town of Arkalochori caved in during renovation works, a police official said. Civil protection authorities said nine people were injured in the quake, which damaged many buildings.

Firefighters look for people in the rubble of a demolished church following an earthquake, in Arkalochori on the island of Crete, Greece, September 27, 2021. (Reuters)

The tremor prompted many people in Crete’s main city Heraklion to rush outdoors. Schoolchildren were told to leave their classrooms, gathering in schoolyards and town squares.

“It felt quite strong and lasted many seconds,” a local mayor told Skai television.

The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the quake’s magnitude reached 5.8 and its epicenter was 23 kilometers (14 miles) northwest of Arvi in southeastern Crete, at a depth of 10 kilometer.

Earlier, the European Mediterranean Seismological center (EMSC) said the earthquake measured 6.5, while the US Geological Survey (USGS) put it at 6.0.

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